


Bond/Q: Why Ship It?

by Saucery



Category: James Bond (Movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Analysis, Essays, Life-Saving, M/M, Meta, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Psychoanalysis, Romance, Sacrifice, Ship Manifesto, Shipping, Slash, Spoilers, Squee, Subtext, Why Ship Them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-27
Updated: 2012-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-19 16:33:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/575322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saucery/pseuds/Saucery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because you ought to. Clearly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bond/Q: Why Ship It?

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So. Why ship Bond/Q? Other than the fact that they’re both really hot and that Q’s wrists would look so  _lovely_  trapped in Bond’s callused grip. And that Q’s sleep-rumpled hair would do a marvelous job of getting in Bond’s mouth, the next morning, until Bond had to shift them so that his lips were pressed against Q’s soft nape, instead, so that Bond could finally  _breathe_. (And get hard enough for slow-but-incandescently-hot sleepy sex.)

Those are the cosmetic reasons. But having just seen the film, I have to say that my reasons for shipping Bond/Q have multiplied tenfold. Hundredfold. Thousandfold.  _Millionfold_.

Can we talk about the fact that Bond wouldn’t have survived without Q?

I just. Okay, so Bond could  _never_  have survived without Q, even in the previous movies, but in no previous movies did they share such a (for lack of a better word) bond, and in no previous movies did Q go out of his way and risk his entire career to be deliberately insubordinate  _for James Bond_ , and act unilaterally in the absence of superior orders  _for James Bond_. And only for James Bond.

The gun Q had lovingly ‘personalized’ for Bond (and sternly told him to bring back in one piece - subtextually implying that Bond bring  _himself_  back in one piece) was the gun that saved Bond’s life by refusing to fire when in the hands of Bond’s enemy and pointed directly at Bond’s chest. Q’s very personalization was what saved Bond; if it had been a generic MI6 gun, no matter how fast or powerful, it would have killed him.

The radio Q snarkily provided Bond with in lieu of exploding pen ~~ise~~ s was what saved Bond from a to-the-mutual-death showdown with Silva on Silva’s deserted island. In fact, it may also have saved Bond from eventual sexual assault, because nobody can deny that Silva was  _courting_  Bond, in his own sadistic way.

The exit Q found for Bond in the underground tunnel and dirty-talked Bond into opening was what saved Bond from getting squished like a bug by an oncoming train. Sure, Q pretended (badly) not to be experiencing immeasurable, heart-thumping, knee-weakening relief when Bond was out of danger, but it was clear for  _us_  to see, on-screen, in Q’s wide and slightly-wet eyes.

And that’s not all. Q went above and beyond his job description as ‘Quartermaster’, and he did it all for Bond.

Can we talk about the fact that Q, clearly the agency’s good little boy, their cleverest pet genius that could only have risen through the ranks at such a young age by doing everything right - that _that_ Q put all his hard work on the line, at a single word from Bond? And, moreover, that Bond  _trusted_  him to do just that? (Were they already dating, by then? Jesus Christ. It seemed an extraordinary amount of trust for a wary, jaded, ever-vigilant field-agent to put in someone that he had only met and begun working with recently.)

Can we talk about the fact that Q - who was afraid of  _flying_ , for god’s sake - thought nothing of facing down the terror and humiliation and ruination of a governmental hearing that may well have seen him charged with treason and imprisoned? And that he thought nothing of it only because Bond asked something of him, something he could give, even at great cost to himself?

Can we talk about the fact that bright-star-of-the-MI6!Q, who thus far had a spotless track record, outright  _lied_  to his soon-to-be boss and outranking officer, Mallory, just to keep Bond’s secret safe, and would have continued lying had Mallory not forestalled him and turned out to (unexpectedly) be in favor of Q’s insubordination, after all?

Can we talk about the fact that Q, who took such pride in being where he was and doing the job he did despite his youth, set that pride aside instantly if it meant helping Bond?

Can we talk about how hopelessly in  _love_  Q was with Bond, pretty much in every scene they had together, and even in those they didn’t?

Can we talk about the fact that Bond returned that fondness, that humor, that snark, that  _spark_ , from their very first handshake?

And that Bond would always, thenceforth, know that Q had saved his life? And done much more for him than that, besides?

Dear god.

I went in shipping Bond/Q; I emerged with 00Q tattooed on my retinas and beating in every rhythmic contraction of my heart, circulating in my system, oxygenating my brain.

I went in enjoying 00Q like I might a rare perfume; I emerged needing it more than I needed air.

And if  _that_  doesn’t tell you why you should ship Bond/Q, nothing will.

 

* * *

 

**fin.**


End file.
